It’s 2019 now, and the year is progressing – as we move into summer, fans of expanded Bitcoin derivatives are still waiting for any real concrete activation of the long-promised Bakkt platform, which was introduced many months ago as a game-changer for crypto investment – but the leadership team does have a new launch date.
In an announcement June 13 on Medium where Bakkt leaders like to post emerging news, chief operating officer Adam White gave a date of July 22 for user acceptance testing for Bakkt Bitcoin futures, citing the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing July 20 of 1969.
The futures will be listed and traded at Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) Futures U.S., and cleared through ICE Clear U.S.
“The ‘moonshot bet’ has become a familiar term in business culture,” White wrote, citing a buzzword that has indeed become central in discussing vanguard enterprise activity. “Recently, Jeff Sprecher, the Chairman and CEO of Intercontinental Exchange, in his fourth quarter earnings conference call, termed ICE’s investment in Bakkt ‘a bit of a moonshot bet.’ Practically speaking, however, Bakkt is a very ‘down to earth’ solution to the grounded challenge of building trust in Bitcoin and other digital assets for institutions and consumers alike. … Still, Bitcoin price discovery, like a moonshot, requires diligent testing before launch. On July 22, two days after Apollo 11’s 50th anniversary, Bakkt will initiate user acceptance testing for its Bitcoin futures.”
Back in March, Kelly Loeffler, who sits on the Bakkt board along with her husband Jeff Sprecher, talked about the ongoing goals for this platform.
“Over the last year,” she wrote, “we’ve worked closely with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on an extensive process to obtain regulatory approval for the launch of our physically delivered bitcoin futures. While we’re not yet able to provide a launch date, we’re making solid progress in bringing the first physical delivery price discovery contracts for bitcoin to the U.S., where price formation will occur in federally regulated, transparent markets.”
Although it has backing from some pretty big companies, Bakkt has been a frustration for some investors and crypto aficionados who want to see a real timeline and promising outlook for this type of Bitcoin futures trading on a platform that was very much talked about back in 2018, as the launch date kept getting delayed.
July 22 is right around the corner, so now interested bystanders have a little more to put on their calendar as they await the emergence of this new crypto investment opportunity.
